Lockheed, Northrop submit final proposals to Air Force to build advanced jet fighter.

Lockheed, Northrop submit final proposals to Air Force to build advanced jet fighter 

The competition for one of the biggest military aircraft contracts in history ended last week when Northrop Corp. and Lockheed Corp. submitted their formal proposals for development of the Advanced Tactical Fighter.

The proposals, which are several thousands of pages long, include complex technical data about the performance of the two companies' respective versions of the aircraft that will be the country's most advanced military fighter plane.

The proposals end years of preliminary studies on the project and hundreds of thousands of man-hours. And what is contained in the proposals will largely determine the future of the two military contractors and thousands of Southland aerospace jobs.

"This is a very important contract, not so much in sheer numbers but because there are just so few big contracts left," said Lockheed spokesman Richard Stadler. "As it's become clearer that there are going to be fewer contracts, this one has become more and more important."

The decision on who lands the contract is now up to the U.S. Air Force, which for the next six months will study the proposals before announcing the winner. That announcement is now scheduled for July 1.

Like all big defense contracts, the project has been controversial. First, many in Congress have argued against the project and, just as the competition ended, there were serious questions about the ethics and financial stability of the program's major contractors.

In November, a jury in Los Angeles awarded three former Lockheed workers more than $45 million after they claimed they were wrongfully terminated for raising questions about production defects in the C-5B, the Air Force's largest cargo plane that was manufactured by Lockheed.

The Air Force has said the plane is safe but late last month a former Air Force official again raised questions about the C-5B's safety.

Also last month, a Pentagon audit of McDonnell Douglas Corp., a member of the team developing Northrop's version of the Advanced Tactical Fighter, found that the company was in danger of bankruptcy, a charge denied by McDonnell Douglas officials.

The Air Force office that is reviewing the two teams' proposals said in a statement, "The Air Force will evaluate each proposal based on the evaluation criteria specified in the request for proposal. Rumors or innuendo are not valid evaluation criteria."

Competition for the ATF contract, which could be worth more than $80 billion in future business, began several years ago with the selection of two teams, headed by Northrop, which is based in Century City, and Lockheed, with headquarters in Calabasas. Northrop is teamed with McDonnell Douglas, as well as dozens of smaller sub-contractors. The Lockheed team includes Seattle-based Boeing Co. and St. Louis-based General Dynamics Corp., among others.

Last summer, each team unveiled prototypes of the aircraft that have undergone a series of tests that concluded with the teams' reports to the Air Force on Jan. 2.

Reflecting the importance of the program, the two teams took almost extreme measures to make sure the reports arrived at the Air Force's aeronautical systems division in Dayton, Ohio, on time.

Northrop executives delivered its 16,000-page document to the Air Force on a chartered 727 and Lockheed carried its document on a company jet.

Up to 900 people on each team were involved in compiling the documents and most of them worked through the holidays to complete the report, according to Northrop and Lockheed.

The contents of each report are secret but the information will largely determine who gets the contract.

For Northrop, winning the ATF contract would help reduce its dependence on the B-2 project. At Lockheed, the program would be a big boost to its declining aeronautics division.

For Southland aerospace and defense workers, the contract is worth thousands of jobs. If Northrop wins, the 750 copies of the aircraft for the Air Force would be constructed at the company's Los Angeles-area facilities. But if Lockheed wins, the plane would be built in Marietta, Ga.

The contract is a huge gamble for both of the lead contractors, industry analysts have said. To develop the prototypes, each team has spent about $1 billion in nonrecoverable funds. Each team has also received about $670 million from the Air Force.

Lockheed and Northrop have not been shy about promoting their respective aircraft and both have said the testing has been remarkably smooth for such a big project.

They have both acknowledged, however, that problems have cropped up, which happens in all flight testing. At Northrop, the flight test of its prototype has shown that adjustments will have to be made in the cockpit canopy and landing gear.

Lockheed would not reveal any specific problems that have come up during its testing phase.

In boasting about their respective products, the two companies point to attributes like speed, efficiency and climbing power.

Lockheed spokesman Stadler said the company went beyond what was required during the testing phase by having one of its prototypes fire missiles. Stadler also said Lockheed's prototypes have done exceptionally well during maneuverability tests.

"Our test pilot has said this is the best angle-of-attack aircraft ever built," said Stadler.

Northrop spokesman James Taft said each of its two prototypes has reached "supercruise" speeds twice, which means traveling faster than sound without using afterburners. Using afterburners consumes more fuel.

"Being able to travel supersonically for sustained periods of time is revolutionary because it means you can fly deeper and get home without refueling," he said.

Industry analysts have said that the loser will be out more than the billions of dollars in potential revenues, because the ATF will probably be the last major contract for a fighter aircraft for many years.

The ATF will replace the aging F-15, which will be more than 25 years old when the new aircraft goes into full production and delivery in the mid- to late-1990s.